Record Increase In tourism Benefits Staten Islanders

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A new report finds that the record increase in tourism to New York City over the past two decades has spurred hundreds of jobs on Staten Island and benefited thousands of additional borough residents who work in tourism jobs elsewhere in the city.

The report — released by Center for an Urban Future, a Manhattan-based think tank — reveals that the number of hotel jobs on Staten Island has more than tripled since 2000.

In fact, the Nicotra Group, which owns and operates the Hilton Garden Inn and Staten Island Hampton Inn & Suites in Bloomfield employs nearly 500 people, according to Kristine Garlisi the company’s chief of staff.